Prelude To Chaos
by GeminiWolf89
Summary: This is a prequel to my story Finally Home, which was a big hit! This will cover my take on what happened between Harleen Quinzel and The Joker when they met at Arkham Asylum. I don't know how long this story will be, but I hope you all enjoy it as much as you seemed to enjoy Finally Home! Rating for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

A loud buzz sounded in the halls of the infamous Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane, and the doors were unlocked so the patients could gather in the large recreation area if they wanted to. A certain patient, however, simply looked over when his door slid open, but made no move to exit the room. One of the guards moved to the opening and tapped on the metal door.

"Up and out, Joker. You know the rules."

Turning his head to look at the man standing in the doorway of his room, the man sent a demented smile in his direction. A grunt slipped from the guard and he backed away from the door when the green-haired man stood.

"Behave yourself, clown."

"Now when do I misbehave?"

A snort of laughter escaped the guard, and he crossed his arms, shaking his head. Walking by him, Joker left his room and wandered off down the hall towards the recreation area. Before he could reach it, however, he was stopped by another guard.

"Come with me, Joker. You're meeting with your new doctor today."

"You boys just keep giving me new toys, dontcha?"

Having no choice but to follow the guard as he was forced down the hallway, the man being pulled by one of the straps on his straight jacket. Grunting as he was pushed into a large room with blinding white lights, he heard the guard speak one last time.

"Sit down and be quiet."

After the heavy metal door was pulled shut, Joker cast his eyes around the room before indeed taking a seat in the cold metal chair. Leaning back in an attempt to be more comfortable, he didn't even offer to turn his head when the door opened again. Keeping his gaze on the floor, an eyebrow shot up when he caught sight of a pair of black heels under the table in front of him. Slowly lifting his head, he took in the black pencil skirt, blue button up and white lab coat situated on a VERY female body.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Joker. My name is Harleen Quinzel, and I'll be taking over as your psychiatrist."

"Well…you're certainly not what I was expecting…"

Looking up at him for the first time since sitting down, Harleen pushed her glasses up on her nose and gave him a small smile.

"Why is that?"

"My other doctors have all been old pudgy men hidden behind the thickest glasses known to man."

A soft chuckle escaped her, and she made one of the biggest mistakes she'd ever made, she locked eyes with the Joker. Her bright green met his darker blue-gray, and it was almost like electricity danced between them. Clearing her throat, Harleen leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs under the table, pressing a button on a hand-held recorder.

"Could you state your full name for the record, Mr. Joker?"

"You just said my name, doc."

"Your ACTUAL name?"

"I don't remember it, honestly."

"You don't remember your own name?"

"Nope."

She arched an eyebrow at him as he leaned forward in his chair, silver teeth glinting under the harsh white lighting as he gave her his signature grin. Joker was mildly impressed that his smile didn't seem to unnerve the female doctor in the least, but of course, he kept that thought to himself.

"So, tell me, Harley…why'd you agree to 'help' me? Most shrinks run the other way if they're assigned to me, yknow."

"Now, that's not fair, Mr. Joker. If you get to give me a nickname…I should get to give you one. Its only fair, right?"

Grunting at the fact that she skillfully avoided his question and quickly changed the subject, he settled back in his chair again.

"Fine."

"How about….Mr. J?"

"I like it, _Harley_."

The way he said her new apparent nickname caused a light shiver to race down her spine. Managing to keep it hidden, however, she wrote something down in his file before closing it and laying her pen on top of the yellow folder. Their session went on for about an hour, and instead of constantly prying into his past, she decided on a different approach. The two of them simply talked, about anything and everything that popped into his demented little brain. Standing when the door slid open and a guard entered, Harleen gave him a small smile before picking up his file and her recorder and heading to the door.

"I'll see you next week, Mr. J."

"I look forward to it, doc."

Walking out the door, she could feel his blue-gray eyes boring into her from behind, almost as if those piercing eyes could see into her very soul. Joker was pulled from his chair and back down the hallway, being shoved out into the recreation area, where he seated himself in his own little corner. Leaning back against the couch behind him, he closed his eyes and let out a little sigh. Knowing the only people stupid enough to approach him were the guards or doctors, the clown felt confident he wouldn't be bothered. His eyes snapped open and he shot a glare to a man who suddenly sat with him on the stark white couch.

His hair and beard were neatly trimmed and well kept, a strange sight on an insane asylum patient. His Arkham scrubs were also spotless and crisp, almost looking brand new. Clearly the man was a new patient, and either didn't know who Joker was, had a death wish, or was just plain stupid.

"Hey…how's it goin` man?"

"`Scuse me?"

"I said how's it goin`?"

Lifting his head, the clown let his eyes bore into the mystery patient's for a moment before a grin stole across his face and he broke into laughter. Lifting an eyebrow at the pale man's sudden outburst of humor, the one sitting next to him grunted.

"The fuck?"  
"You clearly don't know who I am, do you?"

"Apparently not."

Before he could properly educate the newcomer, Joker heard the announcement that all patients were to return to their rooms for the daily inspections. Standing, he shot a cold glare to the one who'd invaded his space, and turned, walking out and back to his room. Sitting on the bed, he let his mind work, another grin curling his lips when a plan started to formulate in his head. The inspection went smoothly, as it always did, and the clown was left to try and get some sleep as the doors slid closed again. When he heard soft talking outside his door, his curiosity got the better of him and he moved over, pressing his ear against the metal.

"I don't want him in a straight jacket for our next session. If I'm going to help him, he has to trust me, and I don't think being restrained is going to help that."

"Doctor Quinzel, The Joker is a dangerous psychopath. If we take him out of his restraints, who knows what he might try and do to you."

"I said no straight jacket."

With an exasperated grunt, the guard finally growled out something that sounded suspiciously like 'fine, its your funeral' to the female doctor. Listening at the door until the click of her heels on the concrete floor faded into nothing, Joker moved back to his bed and smirked, laying down and staring at the stark white ceiling.

 **AN: Chapter one of my prequel to Finally Home! This story is going to be my own take on what happened between the two of them at Arkham, so I hope you enjoy it!**


	2. Chapter 2

The next time Joker was pulled from his cell and taken down the hallway to a session with Harleen, a smirk remained settled on his face at the lack of restraint system. Catching the smirk from the corner of his eye, the guard turned and glared.

"Don't be so smug, clown. The ONLY reason you're not in that jacket is because of Dr. Quinzel. Don't think for a second I won't put you back in it if you piss me off."

"You should really know better than to threaten me, by now."

Pulling open the large door that opened up into the cavernous, white-lit room, the guard simply made the 'go in' gesture with his hand. Giving another unnerving smile, the green-haired man did just that, sitting down in his chair and crossing his arms. Closing his eyes as he heard the door slide shut again, it was a good ten minutes before an announcement was made in the room.

"Dr. Quinzel is running a bit behind schedule, Joker, so just sit tight and stay quiet."

Snorting to himself, it was another five minutes before the door opened and he heard the click of heels on the concrete. Only opening his eyes when he heard the metal chair across the table scrape on the floor as she pulled it back to sit down, did he notice the somewhat frazzled expression on her face.

"Sorry I'm late, Mr. J. Things got a bit…intense with one of my other patients."

"Intense, huh?"

Ignoring his questioning tone, she started to pull things from her bag, dropping a very sharp pencil in the process. The pencil rolled across the floor and hit his foot, where he bent down and picked it up. Seeing her getting his file situated on the table along with her recorder, and then hearing her grumble in frustration about the missing pencil, he reached over and laid it on the table on top of her folder.

"Looking for this?"

"Oh! Uhm, yes. Thank you, Mr. J…"

"Not a problem…before you start asking me all kindsa silly questions…mind if I ask you one?"

"I…suppose not. Go ahead."

"What's got you so rattled? I thought shrinks were trained to deal with just about anything."

"I'm afraid I can't discuss other patients with you. You know that. Lets just say, one of them got a bit riled up at a question I asked and leave it at that, alright?"

A grunt and him leaning back in his chair were her only answers. Noting that he was without the straight jacket, as she'd specified the previous week, caused a small smile to bloom on her lips.

"You look much more comfortable today, without that straight jacket confining your arms."

"Aren't you worried about what I could do to you?"

"I think if you'd wanted to hurt me, you would have already. You had a perfect weapon in your hand earlier, and you just handed it to me, when I'm sure you could have killed me with just that pencil."

Blinking, Joker watched her for a few moments, meeting her eyes when she looked up. Eyeing the pencil now gripped between her fingers, he smiled.

"You're right, I could have. Would be so simple to do, too…and so many ways. I could have just stabbed you in the throat with it, or possibly in the temple…maybe just removed an eye if I wanted to be particularly evil…"

Seeing that his description of how he could have taken her life, or at least hurt her, with a simple No. 2 pencil had NO effect on her whatsoever, he let out a low laugh. Pushing her glasses up her nose a bit, Harleen simply shook her head and looked down at his file.

"But, you didn't do any of those things. Why is that, Mr. J?"

"Well…y`see, _Harley_ , I actually find myself _liking_ talking to you. You listen, unlike any of the other shrinks I've had, and you're not too hard on the eyes, either."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Has anyone ever told you that your eyes are simply captivating, Dr. Quinzel?"

Blinking away the disbelief, she looked down to hide the slight blush that had colored her cheeks at his words.

"Well, thank you. I appreciate the compliment…"

Settling back in his chair, Joker gave a low sigh as the session officially started. She would ask him questions about his past, to which he would either snort or purposefully avoid answering. Harleen wasn't sure if it was because he truly didn't remember his past, or if he just didn't want to go into it because of painful memories. Not wanting to lose what trust she'd gained from the crime boss, she didn't pry too much, and the topic soon turned to his tattoos.

"Did they hurt?"

"Hm?"

"The tattoos, did they hurt? Do they have any meaning?"

"All my ink has meaning, doc, but just to me. Anyone else wouldn't understand, and no, none of them hurt."

"NONE of them?"

"Well, lemme take that back…this one and this one hurt like a bitch."

Watching as he pointed to the J situated on his cheekbone, at the corner of his left eye, and the Damaged scrawled across his forehead.

"Why 'Damaged', Mr. J? Why not a different word?"

"It's what I am, Harley, damaged."

Brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear, her eyes caught on the tip of another of his tattoos peeking out from the neck of his Arkham shirt. Sensing her curiosity, he leaned forward and put his hands on the metal table.

"You wanna see em?"

"I must admit, I am curious as to how many you actually have."

Standing up, the man lifted the dark blue scrub shirt from his body and laid it on the table before him. Harleen's eyes widened a bit as she saw, indeed, how many tattoos the pale man had adorned his skin with. Her eyes traveled over his deceptively small frame, noting that he was pretty much all muscle. When they landed on the word JOKER across his stomach, and the large smile peeking out of the waist of his pants, she cleared her throat. Turning, he let her see his back, which had a few tattoos as well, before settling himself in his chair again.

"Well?"

"That's…a LOT of tattoos, Mr. J."

"How about you, doc? Got any ink hidden under those professional clothes of yours?"

"Ah, no. I don't have any…"

"Mmm, pitty. You'd be even hotter with tattoos."

Clearing her throat, Harleen looked at her watch and closed his file before looking up at him again, their eyes meeting. She felt color rise to her cheeks before looking away and grabbing her bag from the floor, collecting all of her papers, pencils and recorder from the table.

"Well…that's all the time we have today. I'm going to see about increasing your sessions from once to maybe twice a week, see what more time will do."

"I look forward to seeing you again, Dr. Quinzel."

The man shot her a dazzling silver smile, which was returned, though not near as wide. Pulling his shirt back on as a guard entered the room to return him to his cell, Joker reached out and caught Harleen's wrist for a split second.

"And by the way…I find out who's responsible for that split lip, and he's a dead man."

Freezing, she turned her head to look at Joker, the split lip he was speaking of barely visible to normal people.

"Mr. J?"

"You didn't think I saw it, did you?"

"No…I didn't. Don't worry about it, though. It's being taken care of."

"Good…I really don't wanna have to figure out a way to take someone out from in here."

Releasing her arm, he watched as she scurried down the hallway, his little observation and threat seeming to have rattled the normally unflappable doctor. With a smirk, he followed the guard back to his room, and sat down on the cot situated on one wall. Staring up at the ceiling for a bit, the clown continued to mull random thoughts around in his head, finally deciding to open up to the woman about his past. If his plan was going to work, she had to trust him, and then fall in love with him. The latter was proving easier than he'd thought, as she already seemed somewhat affected by his compliments.

"This is going to be easier than I thought…"

 **AN: Chapter two guys! These chapters are going to be significantly shorter than the ones in Finally Home, as will the story itself. I don't know how short, yet, but I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

Over the next few sessions with Harleen, Joker slowly allowed her into his twisted mind. The woman was genuinely interested and impressed by his quick transformation from distrusting and unwilling to answer any of her questions, to one of the most honest patients she'd worked with. Currently, the pair were situated in Harleen's personal office, with the clown reclined on the couch, and her sitting on the end of the chaise lounge next to him.

"Can we talk a little more about your childhood, Mr. J?"

"Whatta ya wanna know, doc?"

"Well, how was your relationship with your parents?"

Joker burst into hysteric, high-pitched laughter and clasped his hands together over his stomach. Lifting an eyebrow, Harleen simply watched him, wondering what had caused the sudden outburst. Seeing the look on her face, he wrangled the laughter back under his control.

"Oh, oh you're serious, aren't you?"

"Ah, yes, I am."

Taking a deep breath to calm himself a little more from his laughing fit, he looked over at her.

"I didn't have much of relationship with them."

"Oh? Why is that?"

"My mother wasn't around, and my father beat the shit out of me every chance he got."

"You were…beaten as a child?"

"Mm hm. It got to the point I started to _enjoy_ the pain, so then the beatings stopped. Instead he would lock me in our dark, damp, creepy basement for days at a time. No food, no water, nothing."

Blinking, she wrote a few notes in his file and then lifted her head and looked over, their eyes meeting. Her bright green ones filled with sympathy for the man in front of her, knowing now how he had been treated.

"Don't, Harley. I don't need you to feel sorry for me."

"No, of course not."

Closing the file folder around the pencil, Harleen laid it on the desk next to her. Watching her movements, Joker moved and sat up, stretching his arms over his head. Taking a quick look at the clock, she removed her glasses and laid them on top of his folder before turning back to him.

"We still have some time, Mr. J, so I'd like to ask another question."

"What question would that be?"

"In terms of romantic relationships, have you had many in your life?"

Joker thought for a moment, legitimately having a hard time recalling any relationships. A fuzzy memory sprang to the front of his mind, and he narrowed his eyes a bit.

"One…that I remember. It's not a clear memory, so I'm afraid I can't give you many details. I THINK I was married at one point…but again, not 100% sure on that one."

"Married, huh? Do you remember ANYTHING else?"

Thinking for a few minutes, Joker growled in annoyance and shook his head. Running a hand through his hair, the man stood up and paced the length of the room. Harleen watched him quietly, seeing his aggravation continue to grow.

"Ah, why don't we move on to a different topic, Mr. J?"

"A different topic would be best."

A knock sounded on the office door just as she was about to speak again, and she instead moved over to open it. On the other side, stood a guard, who informed her their session was over. Looking at the clock on the wall, she looked over at the guard again and nodded.

"Give me five minutes to finish up, okay? I'll send him out when we're done."

"Yes ma`am."

Closing the door when the guard turned around to wait, she moved back over to Joker and sat down next to him on the couch.

"Our time's up, unfortunately. We'll have to finish this conversation next week. OH! I almost forgot…I talked to Dr. Arkham and got clearance for you to have these…"

Getting up, she walked over to her desk and opened the very bottom drawer. Watching curiously, a smile curled his lips when she presented him with art supplies.

"I know you said in a previous session you're artistic and creative, so I thought this might help you."

"Aw, aren't you thoughtful. Thanks, doc."

Smiling again when he took the items from her, she moved to stand up, only to be stopped by his hand grabbing her chin. A momentary feeling of fear fluttered in her chest, but his grip turned more gentle and he brushed his thumb over her cheekbone.

"What the fuck is this?"

"What…what are you talking about?"

"This bruise that you've obviously tried to cover with did it?"

"It's nothing…I…"

"If you say you ran into something, I'm gonna smack you. WHO. DID. IT."

Giving a light sigh and closing her eyes for a moment, she gave in and told him the truth. She'd been dating a guy off and on for over a year, and once she really tried to leave for good, he wasn't happy. The last few times they'd run into one another, he'd left her with a split lip or a bruise of some sort. Growling, Joker again gently brushed his thumb over the mark, that, in all reality, was well hidden.

"Is it really that noticeable?"

"No, not really. I just have sharper eyes than most normal people. Tell me the truth, Dr. Quinzel…are you safe?"

"I'll be fine, honestly."

"That doesn't answer my question."

Harleen didn't answer him, just looked down at the floor for a few seconds. What she didn't voice, her silence told him anyways, and he grunted a bit. Standing, he picked up the items he'd been given and headed towards the door, only to have himself stopped by her grabbing his wrist.

"Thank you, for your concern, Mr. J. It's nice to have someone worrying about me."

"Yeah, well…I like you, doc, and would hate to see you get hurt."

Smiling at him, their eyes locked again, and she felt the nagging urge to kiss him. Mentally shaking herself, she pushed that feeling down and opened the door. Watching him walk away with the guard, she gave a sigh and shook her head. Back in the hallway, Joker tapped the man in front of him on the shoulder.

"What's up, J?"

"I need you to get a message to Johnny for me."

"Yeah, sure. Write out the message on a piece of paper and slip it to me under your door. I'm the one guarding you tonight."

"Good."

Back in his room, the green-haired man opened the art kit he'd been given, smirking at seeing the sharpened pencils, pastels and chalks. Pulling the sketch pad from his bed, he wrote out the message he needed to get to his right hand man, and slid it under the door. The guard picked it up and tucked it into his pocket, giving a thumbs up through the small window in the door. Moving over to his bed, Joker sat down cross-legged and occupied himself with a sketch. Knowing since he'd become friends with the man outside his door, he wouldn't be bothered, he sat up the majority of the night with his art supplies. When morning rolled around, the guard was switched out, and Joker's message was delivered to his right hand man. The rest of the week passed quickly, and in what seemed like no time, the man was sitting in the recreation area waiting for Harleen to come get him.

"I'm at WORK, Josh! Go away!"

"NO! You're going to talk to me, Harleen!"

Looking up from his seat, Joker stood up when two people burst through the doors of the recreation room. Harleen, and an older man with jet black hair and a soul patch following close behind her. He reached out to grab her wrist, and she pulled away, whirling around and delivering a slap to his cheek.

"LEAVE."

Seeing the feisty woman smack the man bothering her caused a little grin to curl Joker's face, though it vanished immediately when said man lifted his fist. In a few steps thanks to his long legs, the green haired mob boss had the other man on his knees, arm twisted around behind his back.

"What the hell! Get this freak off me!"

"So you're the asshole who's been beating on Dr. Quinzel, eh?"

"JOKER! Release that man immediately!"

Looking up from his captive, he saw guards swarming the room, guns aimed. Leaning down, he growled something into Josh's ear, something that caused the man to shiver and go white as a sheet. Releasing him, he felt a hand come to rest on his shoulder, and turned his head. Harleen was standing slightly behind him, a smalls smile on her lips.

"Come with me, Mr. J. I was on my way to get you when he showed up."

Casting one last look to the man being hauled off the ground by the guards, he smirked and turned to follow her down the hallway. They entered the dimly lit office, and almost as soon as the door was shut and locked, she turned around and couldn't stop herself from wrapping her arms around him in a hug.

 **AN: Chapter 3 everyone! I hope you're enjoying this story so far!**


	4. Chapter 4

The sudden touch caught him off-guard and he let out a grunt, his arms slowly coming to rest around her waist. As she realized just WHO she was hugging, Harleen released him and stepped back, giving a somewhat sheepish smile.

"Sorry about that, Mr. J…."

"Ah, its fine. No need to say sorry."

"I do need to say thank you, though, for stopping him. Hopefully it doesn't get you in any trouble."

"I don't think it will, since everything happened within view of security cameras."

Sitting down on the couch, the woman grumbled to herself and then got up and started to pace. Joker leaned against the edge of her desk, watching every move she made. Harleen pulled her lab coat off and threw it across the room with an angry yell. Seeing the more primal side of the normally calm, cool and collected woman caused the green-haired man to smirk and cross his arms. Remembering that she wasn't alone in the room, the doctor turned and stared at him for a moment.

"What?"

"Nothing. Just…surprised at the angrier side of you, Dr. Quinzel."

Letting out a sigh, she pulled her hair from its tie and sat down on the couch again, her blonde waves spilling over her shoulders. Joker moved over and sat down next to her, not speaking, simply watching. Not used to actually having contact with other people, the man reached over and put his hand on her shoulder. Lifting her head a bit, she peered over at him through her hair, which was then moved out of the way by Joker.

"Are you alright?"

"Surprised he followed me to work, that's all. We should probably get started with your session…"

Watching as she got up and moved over to her desk to retrieve his file, he situated himself on the couch. His sharp eyes caught the shaking of her hands as she came over to sit on the chaise next to the couch, and he reached out to steady them.

"Mr. J…."

"I might not be a shrink, Harley, but I _DO_ know how to listen."

"It's MY job to listen to you…not the other way around."

"Well…the offer is there."

Sending him a small smile, and noticing that he still hadn't released her hands, Harleen gave his a small squeeze before re-situating herself. The two spoke for a while about random topics, including more information about his childhood. He again tried to remember more about his past relationship, but had no luck. After about twenty minutes, it indeed turned into Harleen talking mostly, and Joker listening. Towards the end of the session the woman laughed a bit at the apparent role reversal for the day.

"Thank you, Mr. J. I appreciate the opportunity to vent…I don't get that very often."

"Not a problem. Told you I knew how to listen."

As the alarm buzzed, signifying the end of their session, both Joker and Harleen stood up. The clown headed for the door, as always, but this time was stopped before he could leave. When he turned around to see why she was stopping him, he found himself peering down into her bright green eyes.

"Something you want, doc?"

"Something highly inappropriate for a doctor to want from a patient…but…"

"Oh? Do tell…"

Harleen hesitated for a few minutes, kind of tip-toeing around her words before she let out a sigh and looked up at him.

"Fuck it…"

With that, she put her hands on his shoulders and leaned up towards him. Seeing what she was going for, the man gave an internal smirk and leaned down to meet her. Their lips came together in a quick kiss, the electricity between them almost visible when they separated. When she stepped back, their eyes met again, and a low chuckle escaped him at seeing the look in hers.

"I…ah…I shouldn't have done that…"

"Oh? Why is that?"

"I'm your DOCTOR…"

"And?"

"I shouldn't be feeling this way about you."

Moving forward, Joker smirked when she backed up, eventually backing into the edge of her desk and sitting down. Once there, he leaned forward and put his hands on said desk on either side of her. Instead of pushing him away, her hands moved to his shoulders again, fingers gripping a bit. Instead of speaking again, he leaned down and their lips met again, a low growl escaping the man. Pulling back after a few moments, he met her eyes one more time.

"If it's so inappropriate, why don't you push me away?"

Sliding her hands down Joker's chest, Harleen flattened them against his skin and took a deep breath. He simply waited to see what she would do, hands still resting against the desk on either side of her body. When he felt the VERY subtle push, he stepped back and crossed his arms.

"You…you should go before they come looking for you…"

Smirking, he turned and walked to the door, pulled it open and left the office. Harleen stayed seated on her desk for a few moments, hand over her hammering heart. As time continued to pass, she gave up fighting her developing feelings for Joker, admitting to herself she was falling in love with him. She would try to hold sessions in her private office as much as possible, which negated the worry of being caught in a compromising situation. Their sessions were also scheduled for longer amounts of time, half of which would simply be used to sit and talk about nonsense, with some kisses thrown in for good measure.

"This is so much easier than I thought it would be…"

Joker let out a low laugh and reclined on his bed in his cell, and closed his eyes. Hearing yelling from outside the room, rather suddenly, he got up and walked over to the small window and peered out. Walking down the hall, and being followed by one of the guards, was Harleen. Cocking his head as he noticed she was headed right for him, he blinked and stepped back from the door.

"Open this door. Now."

"Can't do that, doc, not without Dr. Arkham's approval."

"I need to speak with Mr. Joker about a very serious matter, now OPEN THE DOOR!"

Another voice that Joker didn't recognize told the guard to do as told, and it wasn't long before the door to his cell swung open and the blonde walked in. The door was pulled shut behind her, and she approached Joker with a glare.

"Now what'd I do to deserve that…look?"

"Did you have Josh killed, Mr. J?"

"I beg your pardon, doc?"

"You heard me loud and clear. He was found dead this morning in an alley behind his apartment. Were you responsible?"

"I think this is something best discussed in private, don't you, Harley?"

Calming herself after a few moments, she let out a sigh and looked up at him. Her advancing had caused him to back up against the far wall of his cell, out of sight of the tiny window in the door. Motioning him to follow her, the door was opened, and when the guard and Dr. Arkham saw the man behind her, they lifted an eyebrow in unison.

"I need to speak with him in private. I'm taking him to my office."

The woman walked between the two without waiting for approval, Joker following behind her. When they reached her office, she closed and locked the door before turning to see him sitting on the edge of her desk.

"Mr. J?"

"To get right to the point of this impromptu meeting, yes, I did."

"How…why?"

"I have a friend amid the guards that got a message to my right hand. He followed the instructions I wrote out for him, and boom, Joshie is dead. As to why…I think you already know."

"Oh, please, enlighten me!"

"He was stalking you, beating you and being an overall dickhead! I couldn't let that continue, now could I?"

Walking over to where he was seated on the edge of her desk, she met his eyes and put her hands on his shoulders. Having uncrossed his arms as she'd approached him, his hands lifted and came to rest on her hips.

"You know how I feel about you…"

"Did ya have to kill him, though? I mean…couldn't you just have, I dunno, relocated him somewhere?"

"I know guys like that, Harls, he would have showed back up eventually."

Letting out a light sigh, she shook her head a bit and moved one hand to the back of his neck, closing her eyes. While they were closed, a smug smile curled his lips and he brushed a stray hair out of her face. When she felt his touch ghost over her cheek, she opened her eyes again and smiled. Once the errant hair was back in place, his hand flattened against her face.

"I shouldn't be this…relieved about someone's death."

"You know I only did it to protect you."

Finally giving in and letting out a light laugh, she met Joker's eyes. He grinned at her when he felt her fingers tangling in the small hairs at the base of his neck. Taking the hint, he leaned forward and their lips met in a kiss. This one, however, didn't stay gentle and innocent for long. Harleen found herself lifted off her feet and sat where he had been on her desk. After a few more moments, Joker pulled back with a low growl, their eyes meeting again.

"Mr. J…I…I want you…"

 **AN: Chapter 4 everyone! SO EXCITED for the extended edition Suicide Squad DVD release on Tuesday! I WILL HAVE IT!**


	5. Chapter 5

His eyes narrowed a bit and a smile curled his deep red lips, and his hands gripped her hips a bit harder. A soft sigh escaped from the woman at his tighter grip, and the hand on the back of his neck slipped up into his hair.

"You want me, do you?"

"Are you telling me no, Mr. J?"

"Ah, no. I'm not that stupid, Harls."

Grinning up at him, she wrapped both arms around his neck and pulled him down into another kiss. A low growl slipped from his throat as he lifted his hands, pushing her stark white lab coat from her shoulders. Lowering her arms long enough for it to slip from them before they returned to their place around his neck. It wasn't long before his Arkham shirt was off and on the floor somewhere, and her hands were tracing his tattoos.

"You're deceptively muscular J…"

"I've heard that a lot."

Giving a light laugh as he picked her up again, lifting her from the desk and carrying her to the chaise on the other side of the room, it was only a matter of minutes before her shirt and skirt joined his shirt on the floor. Scooting back on the lounge, a light blush colored her cheeks, and he grinned.

"What? Not embarrassed are you?"

"I…maybe a little?"

"WHY? You're hot and you know it…still say you'd be hotter with tattoos."

Rolling her eyes, she traced a finger along the HaHaHa's on his chest before he stepped back and hooked his fingers in her underwear, pulling them down and tossing them over his shoulder with a grin. His grin proved infectious, as one curled her lips as well, and then suddenly, she was completely nude before him. He huffed a bit when she crossed her arms, another blush rising to her cheeks.

"Harley…hiding from me, are you?"

Blinking and looking down at her arms, she laughed a bit before allowing them to fall to her sides. Joker let his eyes wander over her, admitting to himself that she was indeed beautiful. Mentally shaking himself a bit, he came back to himself when he felt her hands grip the waist of his sweat pants. Looking down again, he saw that she had sat up, and was in the process of removing said pants. Once they fell, he easily stepped out of them, chuckling at her expression. Kicking herself for staring, she stood up and met his eyes, the man standing quite a bit taller than her without her heels. Slipping one hand up behind his neck, she pulled and he leaned down to meet her in a more passionate, rough kiss. Backing her up again, she moved to lay down on the chaise behind her, Joker moving to hover above her.

"You do this with all your patients, doc?"

"Hell no. You're special, Mr. J…I love you…"

Freezing for just a second, before remembering that this was his plan all along, the man simply smiled at her. A disarming, gentle smile very unlike his normal personality. Shifting on the lounge, he met her eyes in silent question, to which she nodded. Supporting his weight on his arms, a low, gravely groan escaped him when he finally allowed himself to slip into her. The woman closed her eyes and dug her nails into his shoulders, drawing a hiss when they broke the skin. Joker kept his movements slow and gentle, not wanting to injure her or otherwise put his plan in jeopardy. Leaning forward, he pressed his lips against her neck, biting down hard enough to leave a slight mark. A soft moan escaped from her at the bite, and he grinned against her neck.

"Careful, J…don't leave anything that's gonna be there tomorrow."

"Yeah yeah, I know…"

The two of them lost track of time as they moved together, and after what seemed like hours, Harleen felt her release approaching. Reaching up, she grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him down into a kiss to muffle the loud moan that escaped her when it hit. Not long after, he growled against her lips and his body tensed. Once he wrangled his muscles back under his control, the sound of the buzzer alerting them to the end of the session jolted both of them a bit.

"Well…that was good timing…"

Sitting up once he moved from atop her, Harleen was handed her clothes by the clown. Looking around for his pants, he laughed when he saw them somehow hooked on one of the wall lights behind him. Pulling them back on, and grabbing his shirt from the floor and turning to face her, he stopped to let his eyes wander over her as she dressed again. Turning to face him, she felt a little grin curl her lips, and once she was fully dressed again, she approached him. Slipping his blue shirt back on himself, he stopped and turned when he felt her hands on his shoulders from behind. As soon as he was facing her, she slipped her arms up around his neck and smiled.

"That was…amazing."

"I agree, Harley. I definitely agree."

Letting his arms snake around her waist, he let her pull him down into one last kiss before he left the office, a smug smile on his lips. Passing by the guard he'd befriended, the pale man simply passed him a small paper and gave him a look. The guard nodded and tucked it into his pocket. Later that night, the man met up with Johnny Frost at a local bar and gave him the note. Unfolding it and taking a drink of his beer, The Joker's right hand smirked at seeing his boss' handwriting.

 _Johnny,_

 _It won't be long now. If I calculated right, I've gotten in her pants and she's in love with me. I'm going to have her find you soon, and you're going to get me the fuck out of here._

 _-J_

"Thanks for the delivery. Maybe J will give you a spot as a henchman for all your hard work."

Sharing one last drink with Johnny, the guard made his way back to Arkham to sit in the security office. Joker busied himself, as always when he couldn't sleep, thinking up different ways of escaping the Asylum. Obviously Harleen was going to play an integral part in any of his plans, since he had her wrapped around his finger. A few of the plans, that were hastily scrapped, involved the blonde dying. Despite himself, Joker didn't actually want her to end up dead, he had other plans for the feisty doctor within his empire. Months passed, and the pair of them had many similar meetings in her office. Their sessions mostly stopped being about talking about his past, and more about her exploring his body trying to find any hidden tattoos. It was in one of the later sessions, in the stark white room with metal walls, that he put his plan into action. Her expression when he asked her to bring him a machine gun almost made him laugh.

"Uhm, how am I supposed to get a machine gun? And how the hell am I supposed to get it in to you?"

"You'll go see Johnny. He's my right hand man, and my most trusted henchman. Give him this and he'll know who you are."

Sliding something across the table to her, which turned out to be a Joker playing card he'd somehow snagged from the rec room, he gave her a smile. She smiled back and picked up the card, tucking it into her lab coat pocket.

"He'll do the heavy lifting, Harls, all you have to do is get me out of my cell when he gets here."

After a few moments of hesitation, she met his blue-gray eyes and nodded.

"Alright…I'll do what I can."

"When I get out of here…we'll be together. You'll be my Queen."

Standing up, she leaned across the table between them, and when she was sure the guard outside wasn't looking through the window, she kissed him. He growled against her lips and smirked when she pulled back and headed for the door. Once back in his cell, he burst into full-blown laughter, hands folded on his stomach.

"And now…the waiting game ends."

 **AN: Chapter 5! I hope you guys are enjoying this story! It's going to be CONSIDERABLY shorter than Finally Home, but not to worry, I have another story in the works as well. ALSO! If you guys have any requests for one-shots, please send me a PM and I'll see what I can do!**


	6. Chapter 6

The next time Joker and Harleen met for a session, the pair of them spent the whole two hours wrapped up in each other. As the clown was re-dressing himself, he looked over his shoulder at her, and smirked.

"Its time, Harls. Go find Johnny tonight, he'll be at my club, Funhouse. Tall guy, black hair, beard, you can't miss him. Give him that card and he'll explain the rest."

"Am I seriously going to do this…"

"You want to be with me, right? Then I gotta get the hell out of this place."

Giving a light sigh and a nod, she smiled at him and pulled her hair back into its normal style before replacing her lab coat. Walking over to her, he slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her against him with a grin. She returned his grin, her arms moving up around his neck.

"Johnny huh? Does this Johnny have a last name?"

"Frost. He'll be glad to see you, I'm sure."

Looking over when there was a knock on the door, Joker released her and she moved over to answer it. On the other side was the guard that the clown had befriended. Stepping back to let the crime boss out of the room, Harleen watched as the two walked off towards the rec room. At the end of her shift, Harleen left the Asylum, and after a bit of driving, found the club in question and ventured inside. The second the doors opened, the thudding music caused her to wince slightly. Casting her eyes around the large room, she caught sight of someone who matched Joker's description of Johnny, and approached him.

"Excuse me…"

"Hm?"

"Are you Johnny Frost?"

"Well, that all depends on who's askin."

Pulling the Joker card from her pocket, she handed it to him and waited for his response. Taking the offered card, he peered down at it and smirked.

"You must be Dr. Quinzel. Been wondering when the boss would send you. Come on, we've got shit to discuss."

Following the man into the office area of the club, she took a seat on one of the white leather couches. Johnny sat across from her and ordered a drink, with Harleen shaking her head when asked if she wanted anything. Once the drink got there, Johnny took a sip before setting it aside and pulling a set of blueprints from his bag.

"Alrighty, doc, I need you for one thing. When we break through the wall, you need to get the boss from his cell. Me and they boys will handle all the guns and explosives. Think you can handle that?"

The doctor shot the man a lifted eyebrow, causing him to chuckle and down the rest of his drink. He only asked her one thing, and that was the best time to break in.

"Uhm, security seems to be more lax at night when everyone is locked up."

"Alright. We'll go in tomorrow night."

"Tomorrow? Already….don't you need time to plan?"

"We just made the plan, doc. Any time that will work better than others?"

"I…I'll have him for a session around eight, so I guess then?"

"Alrighty then. See you at eight, Dr. Quinzel."

Nodding, the woman stood up and headed for the doors, getting into her car and going to her apartment. Entering said apartment, she went into the kitchen and grabbed what was left of a bottle of blueberry vodka. Pouring it into a glass, she rooted in the fridge for some lemonade, and sat it on the counter next to the blue alcohol. Opening the lemonade, she hesitated before setting it back down and simply downing the strong drink and putting the pitcher of lemonade back in the fridge. Letting out a hiss at the burn of the Vodka in her throat, Harleen went into her bathroom and took a nice hot shower before settling in a chair with another glass of alcohol.

"Am I seriously going to help break him out…I must be insane."

Downing the second glass of vodka, this one cherry flavored, the woman watched the sun fully set before going into her room and laying down to try and sleep. The next day when she got to Arkham, she passed by Joker's cell and took a quick peek inside. He looked up from his sketchbook and sent her a wide, silver-filled smile. Giving him a small nod, she continued on her way to her office. Since Joker was the only patient she had a session with that day, she busied herself with random tasks around her office until the door was opened and the clown was shown inside.

"Mr. J…"

"Did you find him?"

"Yeah…they're coming tonight, during our session…"

"Wonderful! Proud of ya, Harls."

Almost as soon as the words were out of his mouth, chaos erupted in the halls. The sound of an explosion and machine gun fire echoed around them, and the door was blown open. Joker gave a smile when Johnny entered the room, aiming a gun at Harleen.

"Good to see ya, boss. What should we do with her?"

"Mistah J! You promised!"

Stopping in his tracks, he turned his head and smirked at Johnny.

"Mmmm, I did make a promise…bring her this way, Johnny."

Hoisting the doctor over his shoulder, the man followed his boss down the hallway and into a room. Harleen immediately recognized the room they were in, and started to fight. She was pushed down and strapped to a black table, and Joker lowered a light so it shone right in her face.

"Whatta ya gonna do? Ya gonna kill me, Mistah J?"

Joker laughed, throwing his head back and putting a hand on the table next to her head. While laughing, he turned and picked up the pair of electroshock probes nearby.

"Oh no, I'm not gonna kill ya. I'm just gonna hurt ya…really…really…bad…"

Right before he pressed the probes to her skin, he put them down and took a belt from one of his henchmen. He folded it and lowered it in front of her lips, simply waiting. Taking the hint, she opened her mouth and bit down on the leather, meeting his eyes for a moment before he picked the probes back up. Pressing them to her temples, the man watched as her eyes clenched shut and her body fought against the straps as she convulsed on the table. Holding them against her head a bit longer than needed, when he did pull them away, she had round red marks on both temples. Setting the probes aside, he lowered his hands and pressed his fingers against the marks. Straightening himself, he walked around the table and unstrapped her before taking his purple coat from one of his men.

"Boss?"

"Hm?"

"What do you want us to do with her?"

Turning again, he saw Johnny with his gun aimed at Harleen's face, ready to pull the trigger at the order. Seeing her laying where she was, Joker couldn't bring himself to order his right hand to shoot her. With a low growl, he walked over and scooped her up in his arms.

"She's comin` with us. I've got plans for her."

"Like what?"

"I'm going to break her. Turn her into the perfect, psychopathic sidekick. If I'm the King of Gotham, she'll be my Queen."

Johnny smirked and holstered his gun, the group making their way out of Arkham and to the waiting vehicles. On the drive back to his apartment, Joker looked down at the woman out cold in his arms, and was shocked to find he felt a little remorse for what he'd done to her.

 **AN: Here's chapter 6 guys. I think this is going to be the final chapter in this prelude! I DO have a sequel to Finally Home in mind, but I'm gonna take a bit of time and work on some fan-requested oneshots! If you have any requests, let me know via PM!**


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